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1995 Australian Grand Prix
12 November | officialname = LX EDS Australian Grand Prix | circuit = Adelaide Street Circuit | location = Adelaide, South Australia | circuittype = Temporary Street Course | lapdistance = 3.780 | laps = 81 | distance = 306.180 | pole = Damon Hill | polenation = GBR | poleteam = | poletime = 1:15.505 | fastestlap = 1:17.943 | fastestlapdriver = Damon Hill | fastestlapnation = GBR | fastestlapteam = | fastestlapnumber = 51 | winner = Damon Hill | winnernation = GBR | winnerteam = | second = Olivier Panis | secondnation = FRA | secondteam = | third = Gianni Morbidelli | thirdnation = ITA | thirdteam = }} The 1995 Australian Grand Prix, otherwise officially known as the LX EDS Australian Grand Prix, was the seventeenth and final round of the FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Adelaide Street Circuit in Adelaide, South Australia, on the 12 November 1995.'Australian GP, 1995', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2014), https://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr581.html, (Accessed 12/08/2019) The race would see Damon Hill round out the season with a dominant victory, with his two lap margin matching a record set by Jackie Stewart at the 1969 Spanish Grand Prix. It proved to be a weekend of records, with the official race attendance listed as 210,000, a tally not beaten until the 2000 United States Grand Prix. It would also be the last Grand Prix to be held on the streets of Adelaide, with F1 set to move to the city of Melbourne from 1996 onward. Into the weekend itself and qualifying was overshadowed by a huge shunt for Mika Häkkinen at Brewery Bend, a crash that left the Finn unable to race with head injuries, which would require a long stay in hospital. Hill, meanwhile, would sweep to pole position ahead of teammate David Coulthard, while World Champion Michael Schumacher lined up in third ahead of the s. Coulthard made the best getaway at the start of the race, sprinting ahead of Hill to claim the lead. Schumacher, meanwhile, would see his bid for victory effectively ruined at the start, as he found himself stuck behind Gerhard Berger and Jean Alesi after a poor start. Schumacehr lost a lot of time and tyre grip fighting the Ferraris, taking five laps to vault past both Berger and Alesi. That ensured that he was too far back to entertain a challenge to the two s, which had blasted away in the early stages. Indeed, it was only when Coulthard clouted the wall when heading into the pits that Williams looked vulnerable, the Scot ultimately retiring due to the damage sustained in the impact. Hill therefore inherited the lead, which would blossom to over a full minute during the first pitstop window as Schumacher and Alesi collided after their stops. Berger was left to pick-up the chase for Hill, although his engine would fail to hand the torch to Heinz-Harald Frentzen. The German racer subsequently suffered a gearbox failure, gifting second to Johnny Herbert, until he suffered driveshaft failure, while Eddie Irvine dropped out with a complete loss of pneumatic pressure. That left Hill with a lap and a half's advantage of Olivier Panis in second, although the would lose a lot of pace in the closing stages. Hill duly swept past for a second time en-route to his fourth win of the season, with fastest lap ensuring that he also claimed his second Hattrick of the campaign. Behind, Panis would limp his Ligier across the line to claim second, with Gianni Morbidelli running out of time to catch the Frenchman. Regardless, Morbidelli would be delighted to secure his maiden podium finish ahead of Mark Blundell, while Mika Salo and Pedro Lamy picked up the remaining points after a late duel for fifth. That brought an end to the 1995 edition of Formula One, with Bon Jovi headlining an end-of-season concert that had become a tradition during the trips to Adelaide. Background Michael Schumacher added to his already all-conquering tally with victory in Japan, leaving Suzuka with 102 points to his name. Damon Hill, meanwhile, had secured second in the Championship for a second successive season, although he would be out to beat Schumacher at the season finale to reverse his recent run of relatively poor form. David Coulthard, meanwhile, would face a fight to hold third at the finale, with Johnny Herbert and Jean Alesi both within striking distance. A second double-podium of the season for ensured that they claimed the Constructors Championship with a race to spare, ending the weekend on 137 points. would therefore have to settle for second on 102 points, while were confirmed in third on 73. The intrigue heading into the finale would therefore be on the fight to complete the top five, with and leading that fight ahead of the trip to Australia. Entry list The full entry list for the is outlined below: Practice Overview Qualifying Friday Qualifying Saturday Qualifying Qualifying Results The full qualifying results for the are outlined below: *T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car to set their best time in that session. *'Bold' indicates a driver's best/qualifying time. ** Häkkinen was unable to start the race due to an accident during qualifying. Grid ** Badoer was unable to start the race due to an electronic failure. Race Report Results The full results for the are outlined below: ** Badoer was unable to start the race due to an electrical failure. Milestones * Final Australian Grand Prix to be held at the Adelaide Street Circuit. * 75th Grand Prix entry for Roberto Moreno.'1995 Australian GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2014), http://www.chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=1995&gp=Australian%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 12/08/2019) * David Coulthard entered his 25th race. * Final race for as a constructor. * Last race to feature a V12 engine ( ). * Damon Hill claimed the 110th pole position for a engine.'17. Australia 1995', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1995/australie.aspx, (Accessed 12/08/2019) * Thirteenth career victory for Hill. ** Hill tied the record for widest margin of victory set by Jackie Stewart at the 1969 Spanish Grand Prix - 2 laps. ** This was also Hill's 30th podium finish. * secured their 83rd win as a constructor. ** 74th win for a Renault engined car. * Gianni Morbidelli secured his maiden (and only) podium finish. * First (and only) podium for as a constructor. ** Also the fifth and final podium for a engine. * Pedro Lamy claimed his first (and only) points finish. * Hill recorded the 90th fastest lap for a Williams chassis. ** This was also the 80th fastest lap to be recorded by a Renault engine. Standings With that the FIA Formula One World Championship came to its conclusion, with Michael Schumacher proclaimed as Champion on 102 points. Damon Hill would finish as runner-up for the second successive season, ending the season on 69, while David Coulthard claimed third on 49. Johnny Herbert was next with 45 points to his name, while Jean Alesi rounded out the top five on 42. In the Constructors Championship it was who ended the season as the best combination in the field, ending the season on 137 points. ended the season in second, claiming 112 points across the campaign, while were third, having claimed 73 points. Fourth would go to the new combination, a long way back on 30 points, while secured fifth with 24. Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown. References Images and Videos: * References: Category:Grand Prix articles Category:Grand Prix articles Category:1995 Grands Prix Category:Australian Grand Prix